INDEPENDENT IRELAND LEADER Michael Collins has railed against the quality of food in the Hot School Meals programme, saying you would need a “very strong stomach” to eat some of it. 

Speaking on the plinth at Leinster House this morning, the Cork South West TD produced a photograph he was given by a constituent of a lunch their child had brought home from school after refusing to eat it.

“I call into question the Department of Education if this is what they’re calling a school meal for a child. I have to call it nothing else than school gunk,” Collins said, adding that it is “not acceptable”. 

The meal in question

Collins added that it is also “not acceptable” that the Department will not state whether Brazilian beef is used by some producers taking part in the programme.

In recent weeks, Independent Ireland and Aontú have argued that only meat of an Irish origin should be used by producers supplying meals to schools under the Hot School Meals scheme. 

On the quality of the food in the picture, Collins said you would need a “strong stomach” and to be a “very strong human being to put that inside you”. 

He called on the Government to make provisions for Meals on Wheels to take over responsibility for the entire Hot School Meals programme nationally, rather than continuing to rely on different suppliers across the country. 

Collins said the Government instead were happy to continue to see schools provided with what he dubbed a “cheap, dirty meal”. 

“It’s not acceptable,” Collins said. 

The Meals on Wheels service has been providing hot school meals to 11 schools in rural areas.

The Government has committed €300m to the Hot School Meals programme. 

This is the first year that all schools are eligible for the programme, and a dietitian has been brought in to oversee the removal of foods that are high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat from the menus schools are offering.